ASIC Tightens Rules for Australian Crypto Exchanges, License Deadline Starts Ticking

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) officially opened public consultation on new binding rules for crypto exchanges and digital asset custodians on Thursday (15/10). The move marks a crucial chapter in the Kangaroo Nation's effort to bring digital asset platforms in line with conventional financial institutions, ahead of a license deadline that has started ticking.

The consultation, which closes on 27 November, will produce final guidance in March 2027. The legal regime itself will only take effect on 8 April 2027. For players already in operation, they are given until 7 October the following year to apply for a license, and can continue serving customers while the review process is underway.

ASIC's move is not without reason. The shadow of FTX's collapse in 2022 still lingers, when around 30,000 Australian customers could not access their funds. Three years earlier, Cryptopia in New Zealand also went bankrupt after a major hack. The regulator considers customer asset protection to have been a weak point that must be closed immediately.

ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland stressed that the approach being pursued is "same activity, same risk, same regulatory outcome"—a principle that aligns Australia with other advanced jurisdictions such as the European Union, Singapore, and Hong Kong. According to him, platforms carrying out activities similar to traditional financial institutions must be subject to equivalent protection standards.

"Our approach is based on the principle of 'same activity, same risk, same regulatory outcome' to align Australia with comparable overseas jurisdictions," Kirkland said.

In the consultation document, ASIC details the obligations that will burden market players: segregation and safekeeping of customer assets, trading transparency, transaction settlement procedures, and adequacy of financial resources. Trading rules also target market manipulation, conflicts of interest, and order execution governance. For Australian retail investors, this means greater clarity on how their funds are stored and put at risk.

Nevertheless, ASIC notes that stablecoins for payments will be regulated separately through Australia's payments services reform. This means there is a potential regulatory gap that industry players need to scrutinize, especially those running hybrid business models between crypto and the payment system.

On the market player side, more than 140 entities have applied for authorization to provide financial services related to digital assets. This figure shows interest remains high even as the shadow of compliance grows tighter. However, some analysts predict consolidation is inevitable, especially for small platforms that struggle to meet capital and governance requirements.

For Indonesia, this dynamic is worth reflecting on. The Financial Services Authority (OJK) is preparing a more comprehensive crypto asset regulatory framework, following the transfer of supervision from Bappebti. If Australia chooses a strict licensing path with clear deadlines, Indonesia could face similar pressure from global players demanding legal certainty. The question is, will Indonesia pursue equivalent standards or instead fall behind in attracting increasingly mobile industry capital?

With the deadline already in sight, ASIC is signaling that the gray era of crypto in Australia will soon end. However, the effectiveness of these rules depends heavily on consistent enforcement and industry readiness. If implementation drags or regulatory gaps are left unaddressed, investor protection could become mere jargon on paper.